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Feeding established cherry tree

Sam80Sam80 Posts: 40
in Plants
Hello

I have an established ornamental cherry tree in my front garden. But it’s looking a little old and tired. It’s about 8ft and around 60 years old. South facing on slightly acidic soil. A limb died last year which I had a tree surgeon remove (after getting council approval as it has a tpo),but I think the end may be nigh.

Any suggestions please on what to feed it. I though either put some blood fish and bone around the base or a bag of well rotted manure?

Any ideas welcome.

thank you

Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 28,794
    edited September 2019
    For now, just make sure it has a good drink if you've been having a dry summer and then, after some decent autumn rains, give it a mulch of well-rotted compost for the worms to work in and aerate its roots and feed the micro-organisms.

    The time to feed is next spring so, again after decent rain and when you're sure the soil is not dry, give it a mulch of more compost and/or well-rotted manure or else a good handful or two of BF&B.   No point feeding now when it's going dormant.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • Sam80Sam80 Posts: 40
    @Obelixx thanks very much for the advice. I'll do that. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 50,133
    Is it planted into grass, or does it have a border round it?
    If it's in the grass, you can use a liquid seaweed feed in spring.
    Otherwise, as @Obelixx indicates  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 28,794
    If it is in grass I would cut away the grass to a radius of 60cm/2' all round the trunk and then gently loosen the soil below with a hand fork and then mulch.

    One of the things people at places like Kew noticed after the big 87 storms felled a lot of trees was that the ones that had been uprooted and then dropped back in their holes and stayed upright did a lot better the following year.   They concluded that the difference was due to soil compaction which the hurricane had solved for them so now they go around their big old trees and deliberatel pump air into the soil under the canopy.   

    Adding the mulch around the trunk would encourage the worms to do this for you and you could also spike and aerate the grass or bed around the tree under the rest of th ecanopy using a large tined fork to push into the soil as deep as you can and thus make air holes.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • Sam80Sam80 Posts: 40
    It has grass around it so I'll do as advised. Thank you very much
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